Chapter 149
Oliver’s POV
I hid in the small room behind the main dining hall, carefully eating cake from a plate I’d sneaked from the kitchen. All those delicious food smells drifted in from outside, making me swallow hard, but I stayed put. I couldn’t let anyone find me. If they did, Mommy would know I’d been lying to her all along, and Daddy and Grandma would
be mad too.
The voices outside suddenly got louder. I perked up my ears–it
sounded like people arguing. Tiptoeing to the door, I pushed it open
just a tiny crack.
I saw Mommy standing there looking so pretty in her fancy dress, but
her face was all serious. Across from her was mean Ms. Daisy, the
dance teacher who’s always super mean to Aria. Everyone was staring
at them.
Grandma walked over, looking really unhappy. “Miss Wright. What
theatrical performance is this? Do you imagine a few crocodile tears
will erase what we’ve just witnessed?”
My tummy felt all twisted and knotty. Why was Grandma being so
mean to Mommy?
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I saw Mommy’s shoulders tremble a little bit, but she didn’t back down. Instead, she stood up even straighter and looked right at Grandma.
“Mrs. Sterling, Mr. Sterling, ladies and gentlemen,” Mommy’s voice was strong and didn’t shake at all as she gently held Aria’s arm, “please look at these bruises on Aria’s arm. What do you see?”
My heart pounded super fast. Ms. Daisy must have hurt Aria! I could
see the purple marks on my sister’s arm from where I was hiding. I
wanted so badly to run out there and stand next to Mommy, but I
couldn’t! My brave Mommy was fighting all by herself to protect Aria.
I secretly clenched my little fists. Go, Mommy! Don’t let them be
mean to you or Aria!
Everything happened so fast after that. People gathered around in a
circle. Daisy said a bunch of stuff, but in the end, everyone could tell she was a bad person. Then Mommy and Aiden left the party.
While everyone was busy talking about what happened, I snuck out of
the small room and found Hunter.
“Hunter,” I whispered, “take me back to Mommy’s place now.”
Hunter looked conflicted. “Young master, aren’t you supposed to stay
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home tonight?”
“Please, Hunter,” I said, giving him my best sad eyes. “I need to be
with Mommy. She went through so much today, and I couldn’t protect
her. I can’t leave her alone now.”
Hunter nodded, and we followed Aiden’s car from a distance. When
we got to Mommy’s apartment, our car waited in the shadows.
“We’ll wait until Aiden leaves, then move closer,” I told him.
After Aiden drove away, Hunter parked near Mommy’s building. I
immediately jumped out of the car and ran toward her just as she was
about to unlock her door.
“Mommy!” I shouted, running as fast as I could. “I’m back!”
When I launched myself at her, she crouched down to catch me in her
arms.
“How was the party? Are you okay, Mommy?” I asked, my voice full of
worry.
Mommy’s body suddenly went stiff. She looked down at me with
confusion all over her face. “Oliver, how did you know I was at a
party? Why are you worried about me?”
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My heart skipped a beat. Oh no! I forgot that Mommy never told me
where she was going tonight! My brain felt like it was on fire, trying
to think of something to say.
T… I guessed!‘ I stammered, “Because… you’re dressed so pretty, you must have gone to something important! I was worried those
annoying grown–ups might be mean to you,”
Mommy’s forehead wrinkled even more, I could tell she didn’t believe
me,
I’m hungry, Mommy!” I quickly changed the subject, “Can we have
something to eat?”
“‘You’re hungry?” Mommy’s voice sounded even more confused. “But shouldn’t you have had dinner at your grandmother’s house?”
Oh no! I messed up again! I felt like I was falling into a deeper and
deeper hole,
“Well… the food there… didn’t taste good to me,” I said, looking down at my feet. “It’s never as yummy as when you cook, so I didn’t eat
much…”
The room got super quiet. I sneaked a peek up at Mommy’s face, and
her expression had turned serious.
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“Oliver,” her voice was gentle but different somehow, “is there
something you’re not telling Mommy? Why do you look so nervous?”
My heart beat faster and faster, and my hands got all sweaty. Why did
I keep making mistakes tonight? Was it because I was so worried
about Mommy that I forgot to be careful?
“I… I’m not…” My voice got smaller and smaller.
Mommy held my small hands in hers. “Oliver, I don’t want you to
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